A cold case is solved as a New Jersey family finally has answers 12 years after their loved one mysteriously disappeared.
It took persistence across two states and investigative genetic genealogy to lead to a break in the case of Kenneth McCarthy.
His brother, Michael McCarthy, said that he has felt a painful void since 2013 when Kenneth went missing.
"Ken was two years younger than me. He's a phenomenal guy," Michael said. "Ken was academically brilliant."
For 12 years, New Jersey residents Michael and his wife, Nancy, lived with unanswered questions after Ken suddenly vanished while living in North Carolina.
"So much time had passed, we just figured that we would never, ever have an answer," Nancy explained.
But, two weeks ago a voicemail let them know that there was a possible breakthrough in Ken's case.
The couple found out from a detective in North Carolina that the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Cold Case Unit had been unable to identify skeletal remains that were found in a wooded section of the city back in 2016.
Authorities found no evidence of foul play and advanced DNA testing on a bone sample provided a genetic profile three years ago but detectives were reportedly left stumped.
"We had no close DNA relatives to our John Doe," Detective Matt Hefner said.
Earlier this year, Det. Hefner partnered with the Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center at Ramapo College of New Jersey.
More than 50 students joined staffers and volunteers searching for genetic relatives and building out Ken's ancestral family tree for months.
"Specifically, for Kenneth, his matches were third cousins, so those people likely didn't even know who Kenneth was," Tracie Boyle, from the Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center, said.
Those genetic clues ultimately led to Michael after his DNA profile from a 23andMe test that Michael had taken was uploaded to a database called GEDMatch.
That information officially confirmed the remains belonged to his brother Ken.
"Nothing short of amazing," Michael said. "We can stop guessing."
If you've used one of these services, genealogy researchers and police urge you to upload your raw DNA information to GEDMatch and 'FamilyTreeDNA'. Those databases are extensive and accessible by law enforcement.
"We could solve hundreds more cases like this," Det. Hefner explained.
Michael said that his two older sisters live in Ocean and Middlesex counties and that Kenneth's remains arrived in New Jersey on Tuesday.
"I'm going to have him cremated. I'm going to be in possession so I can keep an eye on him," Michael told NBC10. "He's not going anywhere."
The Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center at Ramapo College of New Jersey is also credited with identifying bones that were found on New Jersey's beaches as those of Captain Henry Goodsell, who died after his ship wrecked in 1844.